Second Chance Christmas

A woman gets hit by a car, has amnesia, and forgets she was about to divorce her do-nothing, slacker of a husband and forgets she runs a successful event-planning company. Of course all her loved ones lie to her so she doesn't remember all these distressing details. And the viewer is somehow supposed to feel that all this deception ultimately leads her to some grand revelation.

It's pretty insulting, really. Just skip this one.

The romance was a bit odd when it comes to its morals, but it was an okay movie overall. The couple had chemistry and the performances were decent.

Jack is lazy, undisciplined, and has an iffy relationship with the truth.

Caroline is demanding, apparently micromanaging, and is unethical enough to deceive her husband into signing divorce papers without knowing.

Jack, in conspiracy with Caroline's parents, continues to lie to Caroline more than a few times. They justify it by saying they are trying not to stress her, but he doesn't have enough love or respect for her to clean up the house even a little before she gets home.

All this in the first quarter of the movie. At this point I wasn't sure I empathized with either one of them. She becomes more likable after the amnesia, but I can't tell he has improved at all. In fact I dislike him more and more because he is so stupid in addition to every other flaw.

In some movies, personalities change 180 with barely any justification for it. This movie does a great job of explaining changes.

The last third or so of the movie disappointed me and I don't want to spoil anything as to why.

There are multiple "Second Chance Christmas" titles. This one focuses around Caroline, an (initially) disgruntled over-achiever, Jack, her somewhat-slacker husband, and amnesia.

To avoid any spoilers, that's all you get of the plot. But all you need to know is... there are these two protagonists and five secondary characters... an assistant, two best friends (his) and two parents (hers.) Of these, all but two of the secondary characters pretty much lie the whole time. Caroline is the main character, supposed to be the one you're sympathetic towards, and she starts the movie off with forgery, a felony. (Even though he signed, it's still forgery if she mislead as to what he was signing.)

Christmas isn't actually relevant to the movie. It's barely a minor player. If there were "Groundhog Day Parties", this could easily have been "Second Chance Groundhog".

Despite all this, the movie is more about abandonment (or feelings there-of) than deception. This really screams "Ho ho ho!", doesn't it?

Even at the very end of the movie, mercifully less than 100 minutes in, we learn they're still keeping secrets from each-other. And, in a continued break from reality, they celebrate the suddenly-unveiled news rather than distrusting the deception... even though she mentions it.

There are worse movies. But this is pretty bad.

Caroline and Jack are a married couple who have gone opposite ways regarding their marriage. Caroline is hard-working, and Jack has lost his zest for work and life in general. Still, Jack's love for Caroline has never wavered. Caroline on the other hand, sick of Jack's slovenly ways and video game obsession, can't take it any longer and decides to file for divorce. On her way the attorney's office, she is hit by a car and ends up having retrograde amnesia. She can't remember Jack, her parents, or her friends and even what flavor of ice cream she likes.

This movie had quite a bit of drama mixed in with the tender and loving moments. Just when you think you can predict what will happen next, it will surprise you. I found the entire story quite realistic.

Jack's character is loving, kind, and caring while pre-amnesia Caroline was angry, driven, and judgemental. Post-amnesia, she realizes what kind of person she indeed is.

The two main actors had excellent chemistry, and I enjoyed the others as well, except for Charlene Tilton. I just didn't feel she fit the part of Caroline's mother.